Gluten Hates Me

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

You can’t always get what you want…

So I know I promised you a sweet rockin’ white bean cake recipe…but…it’s not there yet.

Don’t get me wrong. ^ These were delicious. But it’s not quite perfect. So I’m going to try again next week. Until then, I have a recipe from my brother-in-law chef extraordinaire: Chuck!

FAVA Bean Medley

Not only was this salad delicious and full of color, but it totally counts as my new food for May! It’s true. This was my first fava.

And since I didn’t cook these, I thought I would let Chuck tell you how he prepared them in his own words, which is why I emailed him today. Take it away Chuck:

The biggest effort is peeling them, but it is also kind of fun because their pods are so neat. Pull at the top of the pod and it should "zip" the string down the pod and you can crack them open. Make sure when you are peeling them you pop off the little piece that attaches the bean to the pod.

For cooking:I typically don't boil but sauté and let steam with whatever I am going to serve them for the last 10 - 15 minutes. For the ones that I did last night I roasted the tomatoes and the corn in the oven in a pack of foil on 350 for about 45 minutes with some fresh basil and oil. Once I was ready to cook the favas i just sautéed them in olive oil on med-high heat for about 10 minutes then added the tomato/corn packet and covered the pot and let cook for about 10 – 15 minutes depending on your preferred doneness.

Then dump into a bowl and squeeze on some lemon juice and shave on someparmesan.

I have also done them with just pancetta and pecorino cheese which is alsovery good. Similar to above but just render the pancetta or bacon first and then add the favas and cook a little longer. May call for adding a splash of water to help them finish steaming depending on how much liquid you have in the pan after your bacon renders.

So what did I think about thefava?

I loved them!! Best part about these? Chuck had picked them up at the farmer’s market. Super fresh. Super yummy. PLUS it doesn’t hurt that Chuck is an amazing chef.